An Agreement
by Whipper
Summary: Why Lionel sent Lex to Smallville. Pre-Smallville, Lionel and Lex as main characters. (Cursing, *Angst*)


A/N; The only thing you need to keep in mind when reading this story is that Lex is just a teenager, 17 to be precise. His history with the meteor shower, Julian, his mother's death and everything else is the same. It's just that he was five years old when he lost his hair, nine when his mother died and so on... To put it very simply, he was born 1984 (which was a good year to be born, ask me! ;), not 1980. 

**AN AGREEMENT,  
** written by Whipper 

"You took away all she loved, all that ever meant something to her and when you returned it it was all tainted by you. Destroyed and ugly. She let you have her son for one day and you returned me damaged, dad. She lent you a boy and you gave her back a freak." A small sob in the phone and for a few seconds Lionel found it impossible to breath. "Why did you do that? Did you hate her so much that you sacrificed your only son just to hurt her? Did you hate me that much?" 

"I loved your mother very much, and I don't want you to-" 

"You're just like Midas, dad, only everything you touch dies and withers rather than becomes gold. But at least she got away from you. She went to the one place you couldn't have her followed, the one place from which you couldn't bring her back... She might be dead, but at least she's free from you." A pause when neither of them knew what to say, then Lex continued in the same harsh, broken voice; "And you know what's really ironic, dad? That she's with the son that you loved and you're left with the bald monster that you couldn't care less about." 

"Don't-" 

"But it doesn't have to be like that. I could be with them, daddy. It would take so little... and then you'd be left all alone with your precious LuthorCorp." 

"I've sent Phelan to your apartment, Lex. When he gets there I want you to tell him what you've taken and how much, then follow him to the hospital without making a scene." 

His taste of his voice in his mouth was strangely dry and bitter. Lionel lifted a glass of brandy to his lips, desperate to feel anything, even if it was only the burn of the alcohol. 

"What if I'm not in the apartment, dad? How will you be able to save me then? Or what if Phelan get here too late?" 

"I'm growing very tired of this game, Lex," the old man replied as he wondered if he should take a pill for his heart. But as he didn't remember wether or not the medicine mixed with alcohol, he decided not to. Didn't want two Luthors end up in the hospital on the same night, both admitted for overdoses. 

"Yeah... well, I'm sorry about that." And, for the first time, the voice in the other end didn't sound as much that of a spoiled child's as the one of an adult. "I can understand tired. I am tired too." 

"Let me help you then, Alexander? Stop this nonsense and let me help you." 

Luthors didn't plead. Didn't beg. But when their sons were holding their own lives hostages their voices sometimes became very soft and very... caring. 

"I'm here now, sir." A cold, impersonal voice in the other end of the phone. Not his sons, but the one belonging to the cop he had bought to watch over his heir. "He's in bad shape, but nothing we haven't seen before." 

"Very well. I have some phone calls to make before I join you at Metropolis Memorial. Don't let him leave the hospital." 

"Yes, sir." 

Lionel swept what was left in his glass, before he picked up a small book with leather covers. When he finally found the number he was looking for he felt slightly ill. As if dark water had filled his insides instead of the finest brandy. Trying to shake the irrational thoughts he picked up the phone and punched in the number with strong, manicured fingers. 

"Dr. Andersen's office." 

***

"How are you, Lex?" 

Lionel sat down next to his son's bed. Two pale, amused eyes meet his and for a moment he was reminded of his late wife, Lillian. All Lex lacked was the wild waves of red hair and the soft smile that had been something of a trademark for his Lily. His son's smiles were hard and edgy and his skull was covered with thin, white skin. Skin that Lionel had never touched, or could even stand to look at. Lex's baldness was something he still couldn't quite accept. 

"I'm fine, dad." That slow drawl, those familiar lips curled in small sneer. Lillian had reserved that kind of voice for people who didn't appreciate fine literature or kicked their dogs. "The drugs are free of charge but the room service leaves a lot to be desired. And don't get me started on the other guests in this fair establishment." 

"Your doctor tells me that you're not cooperating." 

Lex didn't answer, just turned his head away and looked out through the window with a blank look on his face. He looked so out of place in the hospital bed, leather straps around pale wrists and a thick blanket covering his legs and stomach. 

"Lex, I'm talking to you." 

"Nothing wrong with my ears, dad." 

Lex swallowed and gave the glass of water standing on the table, next to his bed, a longing look. Lionel wondered about the logic in leaving water for a man strapped in his bed as he picked up the glass and brought it to his son's lips. Lex took a mouthful of water before he moved his head away, a sign that he had enough. Lionel removed the glass quickly but a few drops still escaped and rolled down the young man's cheek. 

Lionel took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiper the water of his son's face. Lex moved away from his hand quickly, as he always had. The young Luthor had never been comfortable being touched, unless, of course, it was for pleasures of the flesh. 

"In that case, please look at me while I'm talking to you." The air in his lungs almost, but just almost, left him in, what he was sure would have been a short gasp, as he was pierced by angry eyes. "Thank you. Now, would you care to tell me why you're making the good doctor's work so much harder for her by refusing to answer her questions?" 

"Why should I?" 

"Because until this matter is solved, this is where you'll remain." 

Blue eyes closed for a few moments. Lionel looked away when they re-opened, knowing that Lex would be unable to hide his fear. 

"What matters is it that needs to be solved?" 

"Your drug dependency. Your self-destructive behavior. Your disobedience. Your constant emotional breakdowns." 

"You want a normal son," Lex interrupted with a thin voice. "Not a freak. There's nothing new about that." 

"I want a son that I can be proud of. Not one that I have to hide in a private clinic for the mentally unwell." 

"Ask my doctor and he will tell you that I'm not insane. Ask a lawyer and he'll tell you that keeping me here is a violation against my human rights." 

"I have asked your doctor, Lex. He tells me that you show all signs of being severely depressed. And we both know of your... little, suicidal episodes. As for asking a lawyer... You're a minor and I'm your father. I'm not violating any laws by having you treated for depression. Besides, we both know that I could keep you here, strapped to that bed, for the rest of your life if that was what I wanted." 

Lex's hands curled into fists and there was a look of absolute terror on his face and Lionel felt his heart contract with guilt. But the situation his son had been in prior to his admittance to the clinic had been unacceptable. The young Luthor had been on the edge of creating a scandal almost every weekend and Lionel had spent a minor fortune to keep his son out of jail. 

"No one will come to your rescue, Lex. In time, no one will even remember you." 

"What do you want me to do, dad?" 

"I don't want my son to depend on drugs or alcohol to survive the day. If I let you out of here and then is given reasons to suspect that you're using again I will send you back here and I will throw away the key. Is that understood?" 

"Yes." 

"What did you say, son?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"No more of these... attention-seeking episodes of yours. No more disobeying me. No more scenes." 

"Yes, sir." 

And Lionel knew he should be pleased. The bleak, shaking voice of his son should be sweet victory. The way the young man's hands were slack and unmoving, rather than furiously clenching should make him happy. But it was too hard for him to recognize this as Lex, too hard to see Lillian, who had fought so hard for her life, in that defeated body laying strapped down in front of him. 

"Repeat it," he forced himself to say. 

"No more drugs. No more attention-seeking episodes. No more disobeying. No more scenes." A pink tongue nervously wetted the lips before blue eyes looked up at him. "Where will you send me, sir?" 

And for a moment, Lionel saw the son he so much wanted Lex to be. There was intelligence in those blue eyes and an ability to come to the right conclusions even in a bad situation. Lionel Luthor almost forgot the guilt over putting his son in a place like this. If spending some time in an institution was what it took for Lex to become what Lionel needed him to be, then so be it. 

"Smallville." 

"The ancestral home," Lex remembered quietly. 

"Yes. And one of my plants." Lionel stood up, looking down at his son. "I'll be sending you there in a couple of weeks. Say thank you, Lex." 

"Thank you, sir." 

"That's a good boy." 

***

"With all due respect, Mr. Luthor, isn't he a bit too young for this?" 

"You'll still be in charge of the plant, Mr. Sullivan. As you said yourself, Lex isn't even allowed to vote yet. And, even if he was, he's not mature enough to take care of the plant." Lionel swallowed a mouthful of vine and smiled pleasantly at his dinner companion. Gabe Sullivan was a good man and nothing at all like what he wanted his son to be. But, as the manager of plant number three, had just pointed out Lex was still very young. A year or so here in Smallville, then he'd take Lex back to Metropolis. "Consider yourself... Lex's mentor. I just want my son to get a feeling of what it is like to have responsibility. And I'm sure you'll find him to be a very intelligent and resourceful young man." 

"Of course, Mr. Luthor." 

Gabe Sullivan looked down at his plate to hide, Lionel was sure, the look of disapproval on his face. His manager, along with most people, knew very little about Alexander Luthor, except from what Lionel hadn't been fast enough to stop the Inquisitor from printing. And the picture they painted of his son wasn't one of intelligence and resourcefulness. 

"Here," he gave the other man a thin folder. "Here's what you need to know about Lex." 

He urged the other man to open the folder. He knew exactly what information Sullivan would find there, having put the file together himself a couple of nights earlier. There were a photo of his son, just to make sure that the man who would be responsible of his son for the next year wouldn't be too shocked by his baldness. He knew how much Lex hated it when that happened. There was also a copy of his degree, something he was sure would convince Sullivan that Lex was far from stupid, and a short CV. His son hadn't done much worth mentioning after school but still, it looked better than to just write; "spent all his time clubbing, fucking and using various illegal substances." 

"Where is your son now?" 

"Lex is taking care of some unfinished business. He'll be arriving in Smallville sometime next week." 

"That reminds me, Mr. Luthor. I was meaning to ask you," Sullivan blinked a few times, "is your son really going to live in that castle all on his own? He's just seventeen, after all." 

"Of course not, Mr. Sullivan. He will, of course, have to employ a staff. A cook, a few maids and a manservant should be enough, don't you think?" Lionel found the other man's discomfort at the mentioning of a staff quite amusing. "I'm sure we'll find some locals to take care of the gardens. And as for security, a certain Mr. Raines will be in charge." 

"Oh. And when will the... staff arrive?" 

"They will be here the day after tomorrow to make sure that everything in the castle is in order." 

Sullivan nodded slowly as he carefully put the papers back into the folder. 

"I'll have to leave you now, I have an important meeting in just a few hours. I have no doubt that this will all work out just fine, but should something happen, Mr. Sullivan, don't hesitate to call me." 

"Of course, sir." 

Lionel smiled and shook his employees hand. 

***

"Lex is in his room." A brilliant smile. "He seems to be quite eager to leave." 

"I'm sure." He'd just been here a couple of minutes and he was already eager to leave so considering that Lex had spent almost four months here now... Lionel sighed and looked down at the doctor's cluttered desk. He wondered if he should tell her that appearances was everything and that that included the way she kept her desk but decided that he really didn't care enough. "So, how is he?" 

"He appears to be fine. Whatever you told him on your last visit it must have done the trick. He's been surprisingly calm and quiet ever since. Charming even. I think the nurses will miss him." She looked down at the papers in front of her. "I've prescribed him an anti-depressant to use for the next couple of months. I'd like to prescribe a mild sleep-aid as well, but I thought I'd ask you first, Mr. Luthor." 

Lionel shook his head. 

"I don't want my son to have access to any drugs." 

"I almost thought you would say so. But it's a very mild sedative, sir, and to be frank I don't think Lex will be able to get much sleep without them." The pretty, red-haired doctor smiled at him again as if to ask forgiveness for her honesty. "But, of course, if you object, I'll-" 

"You are the one with the medical degree, of course." And Lionel had always been weak for red-heads. "But if Lex, at any time in the future, were to misplace his pills and ask for another prescription-" 

"We're aware of your son's history of drug abuse, Mr. Luthor. If something like that were to happen we'll let you know at once." 

"Thank you. Anything else, Dr. Guerin?" 

"Well, yes. Have you considered my suggestion of keeping Lex in therapy even after he leaves?" 

"Yes. I've even made an appointment for him next week." 

"Lex should be grateful to have a father that cares this much about him." 

"I'm sure he is," Lionel lied smoothly. 

***

"So. This is it." 

Lex looked unnaturally pale, which perhaps wasn't so strange considering he had spent the entire summer in his room at the clinic. The young man looked out of the helicopter with calm detachment, reminding Lionel of another time, another Lex that had just been a chubby, five year old with red hair and a habit to suck on his thumb while sleeping. He didn't think his son had visited Smallville since that terrible accident and wondered how much the thin, bald man sitting next to him remembered. 

"Yes," he answered his son. "This is it. To your right you can see the mansion." 

"Impressing," Lex said, sounding almost bored. 

Lionel gave his son a cold look and was pleased to see the teenager straighten up. 

"Remember what I told you at the clinic, Lex?" 

"No more drugs. No more attention-seeking episodes. No more disobeying. No more scenes." 

"It would serve you well, son, to repeat those words to yourself every night before you go to bed and every morning when you wake up." 

"Yes, sir." 

"Most of your belongings from the apartment has been moved to your rooms and your cars are in the garage. There's a new Porsche there. A Gemini blue 911 SC." Lionel cared little for cars but it was still one of his son's passions he could understand and approve of. And although he hid it well, it still pleased him to see the small light in Lex's eyes as he told him about the little gift. "I hope you will like it." 

"I'm sure I will, sir." A short pause, then a quiet; "Thank you, dad." 

"Just remember our agreement, Lex, and everything will work out just fine." 

Lex nodded slowly before he glanced out of the helicopter windows again. Lionel followed his son's eyes and looked out over Smallville, wondering if his and Lillian's child would be able to find some resemblance of happiness there. 


End file.
